DFD: Vacant house fire near downtown Decatur considered 'suspicious'

DECATUR, Ill. (WAND) - A vacant house that caught fire Monday in Decatur is considered suspicious, according to the Decatur Fire Department. 

Firefighters were called to the home on East Wood Street near S. Martin Luther King Jr. Drive on Monday evening. DFD said the first responding fire crews worked to prevent the fire from damaging nearby structures. 

Additional crews battled flames in "defensive positions" outside the fire, according to DFD. Firefighters needed several hours to do overhaul work once the fire was put out.

"This structure has been the site of multiple previous fires," the department said in a news release to WAND News. 

It's not clear how the long the home has been vacant.

The cause of the fire is under investigation. 

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